Covering anode hook with lead, etc.



June 18, 1968 c. F. LEIBLINYGER 3,388,453

COVERING ANODE HOOK WITH LEAD, ETC.

Filed Jan. 27, 1966 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 IT FLUX TREATMENT MOLTEN LEAD DIP INSERT HOOK IN ANODE NOTCH 2L1 D FLUX TREATMENT BURN LEAD COAT ONTO HOOK AND INTO SPACE BETWEEN HOOK AND ANODE INVENTOR. CLARENCE F. LEIBLINGER Zak .3 ATTORNEY June 18, 1968 c. F. LEIBLINGER COVERING ANODE HOOK WITH LEAD, ETC

4 Sheets-Sheet Filed Jan. 27, 1966 m m E V W.

CLARENCE F. LEIBLINGER fix M- ATTORNEY June 1968 c. F. LEIBLINGER 3,333,453

COVERING ANODE HOOK WITH LEAD, ETC.

Filed Jan. 27. 1966 4 Sheets-Sheet 3' INVENTOR. CLARENCE F LEIBLINGER %l/ L ZM ATTORNEY June 1'8, 1968 c. F. LEIBLINGER COVERING ANODE HOOK WITH LEAD, ETC.

4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Jan. 27, 1966 INVENTOR. CLARENCE F. LEIBLINGER BY 4 ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,388,453 COVERING ANODE HOOK WITH LEAD, ETC. Clarence F. Leiblinger, Cleveland, Ohio, assignor to Republic Lead Equipment Company, Cleveland, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Filed Jan. 27, 1966, Ser. No. 523,404 7 Claims. (Cl. 29-492) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The notched end of a lead anode is united to the hook of a metal more conductive than lead by treating both with a lead flux, dipping the treated hook into molten lead to form a skin coat of lead on its surface, then placing an end of the hook Within the notch of the anode, applying a lead flux over the skin coat and then burning a lead covering over the portion of the hook Within the notch and burning lead into the space between the hook and the anode and thus substantially filling said space with lead and thereby bonding the anode to the hook.

This invention relates to a new lead anode and particularly to the homogeneous covering of the anode hook with lead and its union to the body of the anode. The invention includes the new method as well as the product.

Lead anodes are widely used in chromium plating baths. They are provided at one end with a hook formed of a metal that is a better conductor of electricity than the lead, The hook is usually made of copper, but may be made of aluminum, etc. Such hooks are readily corroded by the fumes from the plating bath, and it has previously been proposed to cover the books with lead, but the lead coverings have not been satisfactory. If molten lead is cast directly onto the hook, the lead does not form a good bond with the hook and because of the difference in the coeiiicients of expansion of the two metals they soon separate. On separation the fumes from the bath penetrate into the space between the metals, and the copper or other more conductive metal is quickly corroded. No satisfactory method of connecting the hook to the anode has previously been found.

According to this invention, the hook is first skincoated with lead by treating the hook with a flux designed for lead coatings (and referred to herein as a lead flux), and then dipping it in molten lead. This coated hook is then inserted in a notched end of a lead anode and bonded to the anode by first treating the coated hook and the end of the anode with a flux and then burning lead over the portion of the hook adjacent the anode, and into the space between the hook and the anode. The surface of some hooks which is designed to make electrical contact with the bus bar (referred to herein as the contact surface) is not coated. It is not necessary to coat the hook of this invention with a plastisol or other elastomeric material such as has been used in the past to protect the inferior products.

The lead coating formed as herein described, by burning lead onto a lead-dipped hook is so firmly bonded to the hook that no separation occurs on heating or cooling, and the covering is referred to herein as being homogeneous.

The invention is further described in connection with the accompanying drawings which illustrate two different types of books, it being understood that the invention is applicable to the attachment of hooks of other shapes to anodes of other shapes which are designed for use in chrome plating baths.

Patented June 18, I968 ice In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a flow sheet which identifies the steps in the process of attaching a hook to an anode;

FIGURE 2 is a vertical view in perspective of a hook being assembled in the notch of an anode;

FIGURE 3 is a side view of the hook after leading and before assembly, with parts broken away to show its construction;

FIGURE 4 is a front detail of the bottom of the hook after leading, on the line 44 of FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 5 is a section on either line 55 of FIGURE 3, both sections being the same;

FIGURE 6 is an elevation of a detail of the assembly before leading the parts together;

FIGURE 7 is an elevation of the same after leading the parts together;

FIGURE 8 is a section on the line 8-8 of FIGURE 6;

FIGURE 9 is a section on the line 99 of FIGURE 7;

FIGURE 10 is a vertical side section of the assembly after completion;

FIGURE 11 is a front elevation of a different hook and anode before assembly;

FIGURE 12 is a side vertical section of the hook and anode of FIGURE 11 after assembly;

FIGURE 13 is a section on the line 13-13 of FIGURE 11; and

FIGURE 14 is a section on the line 1414 of FIG- URE 11.

The treatment will be described as applied to a copper hook, although the hook may be of aluminum or other metal, The anode is illustrated as a solid cylindrical rod, but it may be hollow and of other cross-sectional shapes.

The hook, after cleaning, is treated with a lead flux and then dipped in molten lead. This forms a deposit on the hook which is about 2 mils thick. The hook is then placed in a notch in the lead anode, the anode having been cleaned. The coated hook and end of the anode are then treated with the same or a different lead flux and leaded together by burning lead into the space between the hook and the anode and over the end of both the hook and the anode. Lead is also burned over the flux-treated hook surface, preferably before the hook is assembled with the anode.

FIGURES 2 to 10 illustrate the application of the invention to the knife-edged hook 5, so called because of the thin inner contact edge 7. The extensions 8 space hooks placed side by side on a bus bar and serve as a finger lift. The end 9 of the hook which is to be joined with the anode is preferably notched, as at 10, and fits loosely in the notch 11 between the prongs 13 at the end of the anode 14.

It is most convenient to cover the hook (except for the end 9) by burning lead on to it before the hook is assembled with the anode. It is first covered with a lead flux, such as an aqueous solution of 15 pounds of granular zinc chloride and 8 ounces of ammonium chloride to which rosin may be added. Any commercial lead flux may be used, a liquid lead flux being preferred. The hook is then dipped in molten lead to form thin coating 15. As indicated in FIGURE 5, the knife edge 7 is not leaded except for the dip in molten lead, but lead 16 is burned onto the other surfaces to a thickness sufficient to protect the copper, such as a thickness of about Vs ifilch, for example. FIGURES 3 and 4 show the leaded ook.

The hook is then placed in the notch 11 (FIGURES 6 and 8), after the end of the anode has been treated with the lead flux, and lead 18 is burned into the space between the hook and the anode and over the adjacent areas of the hook and anode. The thin covering 15 of lead over the knife edge 7 is later scraped away in small areas so that the copper of the hook makes good electrical contact with the bus bar 20 (of any shape) when put to use.

By the foregoing procedure, the lead is so firmly and homogeneously bonded to the hook, that there is no separation of the lead from the hook during temperature changes, and fumes from the plating bath do not enter between the two metals.

A somewhat different hook is shown in FIGURES 11 to 14. There is no knife edge on this hook 25, but the surface 26 fits flat against the side of the rectangular bus bar 28. This surface 26, and the rest of the inner surface of the hook is bare. The steps of coating and assembling the hook with the anode are the same. They are both cleaned. The entire surface of the hook is treated with a lead flux and then dipped in molten lead to form a skin covering 29. This is scraped from the surface 26 to expose the copper of the hook. The outer surface of the hook is then treated with a lead flux and lead 30 is burned on to it down to the bottom end 31 of the hook.

The bottom of the hook is then placed in the notch 32 between the prongs 33 of the anode 35, and lead is burned into the space between the hook and the prongs 33 to fill it with lead, and at the same time the bottom of the hook and the top of the anode are similarly leaded. Thus, the hook is firmly bonded to the anode, and the lead covering which extends from the lead of the anode up over the bottom of the hook, and over its outer surface above this is so firmly bonded to the copper that there is no separation of the two due to the difference in their expansion coefiicients. When placed over bus bar 28, the skin coating 29 is quickly burned away on contact, or it may be scraped away.

The invention is covered in the claims which follow.

What I claim is:

1. The method of assembling a hook of electrically conductive metal in the notched end of a lead anode which method comprises treating the notched end of the anode and a hook of a metal more conductive than lead with a lead flux and dipping the treated hook into molten lead and thereby forming a skin coat of lead on its surface, then placing an end of the hook within the notch; applying a lead flux over the skin coat and then burning a lead covering over the portion of the hook within the notch and burning lead into the space between the hook and the anode and substantially filling said space and thus bonding the burned lead with the anode and the hook, and burning lead on to at least a portion of the hook above the notch.

2. The process of claim 1 in which a portion of the hook is not covered with burned lead.

3. The process of claim 1 in which substantially the entire surface of the hook is covered by burned lead.

4. The assembly of a lead anode and a hook of a different metal united by a bond largely of lead.

5. The assembly of claim 4 in which there is no burned lead on the opposed inner surface of the hook which is adapted to contact a bus bar when the hook is placed over the bus bar.

6. The assembly of claim 4 in which the hook includes a knife edge, and the whole surface of the hook is covered with burned lead, the covering of lead over the knife edge being thinner than on adjoining surfaces of the hook.

7. The assembly of claim 4 in which the anode is notched and the hook is united to the anode at the notch.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,996,657 4/1935 Shannon 29492 1,438,722 12/1922 Price 204-297 1,484,194 2/1924 Servis 204-297 2,007,221 7/1935 Smith 117-5l 2,456,235 12/1948 Yonkman 117114 X 2,467,852 4/1949 Pinner 29592 X 2,493,768 1/1950 Magnin 117-114 X 2,525,603 10/1950 Jenks 117l14 3,167,858 2/1965 Knapp et al. 29502 X JOHN F. CAMPBELL, Primary Examiner.

D. C. RElLEY, Assistant Examiner. 

